U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo said he wanted to send a message to the community during a sentencing hearing for former County Judge Luther Jones and former District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez.

As a result, he sentenced both Monday to six years in prison, ignoring their requests for leniency.

Montalvo said he hopes those "engaged or thinking about engaging in corrupt activities" recognize the message that if they are caught and convicted, they will go to prison.

The once-powerful politicians stood in front of Montalvo on Monday wearing red prison-issued jumpsuits and shackles.

A thinner than usual Jones, kept a stern look on his face during the sentencing, while Sanchez held his head down at times.

Family and friends packed the ceremonial courtroom on the second floor of the U.S. Courthouse because there was no more room inside Montalvo's courtroom.

In April, Jones, 64. and Sanchez, 43, were convicted of conspiring from October 2003 to July 2004 to secure a multimillion-dollar digitization contract from the county for Altep, a company represented by Jones. The contract was never issued.

"They have both decided to do this same crime together, so they were tried together and they both got the same sentence," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio Franco Jr. "They will leave prison together, too."

Once their sentences are served, both will be on probation for three years. Jones also received a $50,000 fine.

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Both Jones and Sanchez declined to address the court, on the advice of their attorneys.

"I would love to speak but (San Francisco lawyer John D. Cline) has advised me not to," Jones told the judge. "Thank you very much for the opportunity."

Afterwards, Cline made it clear that Jones intends to appeal the ruling.

"We respect the court and that task they were charged with today and we respect the judicial system," Cline said. "We will be appealing the decision and we will save the best of what we have to say for the court."

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Franco Gregory and Franco said the convictions and sentences will help send a message in future cases.

"Unfortunately, this was happening in El Paso and people knew this kind of thing was happening," Antonio Franco said. "El Paso has been looking for something like this (conviction and sentence)."

The sentences fall in line with those given to three other El Pasoans who were also convicted on public corruption charges.

In February, Bob Jones, the former president and CEO of the National Center for Employment of the Disabled, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and forced to pay $68 million in restitution after he confessed to six counts of fraud, including bribery of county and school district officials.

In March, Ernie Lopez, an ex-NCED executive, was sentenced to three years and forced to pay $3.8 million in restitution for two counts of lying to the federal government.

Then in May, Adrian Pena was sentenced to six years in prison. He had pled guilty to bribing two former elected officials.

Last week, both Sanchez and Luther Jones filed a motion asking Montalvo to take it easy on them. Sanchez hoped for a year and a day sentence, while Luther Jones had asked for 41 months.

Luther Jones' appeal to Montalvo included several letters that spoke about his character. His lawyer also made a pitch for leniency during the sentencing hearing.

"He has mentored countless young people, he has been friends to countless people and he has provided free legal services for many people," Cline told the judge during Monday's hearing. "Mr. Jones did a bad thing, but he did it in the context of a life that is well lived."

Cline told the judge that Luther Jones has lost part of that reputation and will lose his law license.

"I think the 41 months, with everything he has gone through, is a powerful deterrent," Cline said.

But Franco said Luther Jones committed these crimes as a person of influence and not as a lawyer.

"What he was doing in this case did not require him to be a lawyer," Franco said during the hearing. "His goal in this case was to create a need for a contract and steer that contract towards a certain individual.

"Once he gets out, he may not have a law license, but he still will be able to harm the county," Franco added.

Franco also wanted the sentence to send a message to El Paso County, which has been plagued by a public corruption investigation since 2008.

"This community is tired of this," Franco said. "Nothing happens to these individuals. Send a message that is important."

Sanchez' lawyer Orlando Mondragon said his client was not the organizer of the illegal deals. Sanchez just had knowledge of them.

"What hurt him the most was that he was an elected official," Mondragon said Monday. "He was not making a profit off of this, your honor."

Mondragon added that Sanchez thought the digitization contract was a good move for the county.

"His problem was that he wanted the best for El Paso County," Mondragon said.

Franco said Sanchez could have been the whistle-blower, but instead allowed the under-the-table deals in order to stay in favor with Luther Jones, who in exchange paid for meals and trips.

"Without Mr. Sanchez, this would not have been possible," Franco said. "He was elected by the people of this county to do an important job and he betrayed them."

Judge Montalvo agreed with Franco's assessment.

"Mr. Sanchez clearly went along with Mr. Jones," Montalvo said. "I think you (Sanchez) deserve the same sentence as Mr. Jones."

In an afternoon news conference, Franco pointed out that the crimes were not made out of desperation, but instead out of greed.

"Unfortunately a lot of people that commit these crimes don't think about going to prison," Franco said. "Mr. Jones is a lawyer and he thought he could get away with it. Mr. Jones was afforded everything in life and he still chose to do these crimes."

The prosecutors expect both defendants to file their appeals sometime today.

Since the FBI began its public corruption investigations in El Paso, 22 individuals have been convicted, including Luther Jones and Sanchez, while 19 have pled guilty, according to prosecutors. There are also 11 cases still pending.

Aaron Bracamontes may be reached at abracamontes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6156.